Salute To The General
Chapter 2340

A banquet was taking place at the Smith residence in Channing.

Sean and his extended family of more than a hundred were crowding around Penny and Nathan's family.

Sean was glowing with pride as he sang praises about his granddaughter. "The honor of being awarded the World Peace Prize is not only Penny's-it is the honor of the whole Smith clan to be associated with this!"

Smiling broadly, he raised his glass and toasted, "Here's to you, Penny! Thank you for making our family proud!"

Penny was blushing a little, overwhelmed by all the attention lavished on her. "This award is not solely my achievement. It would not have been possible without Nathan and the past efforts of my late father-in-law. We owe it all to the support and encouragement from our family and friends too! Thank you, Grandpa. And a big thank you to my dear family!"

She raised her glass respectfully toward her relatives to honor them as well.

The whole clan joyously did a bottoms-up and congratulated Penny.

Benson and Leah were beaming from ear to ear. They had always been insignificant in the eyes of their family, but because of their daughter and son-in-law's achievements, they had become the star and the pride of the Smith family.

Their eyes lingered on Nathan, and the more they observed him, the more pleased they were with him.

After the toast, everyone headed back to their seats, and the banquet officially began.

The Smiths and their guests were having a great time feasting and catching up with one another when suddenly, a few uninvited people turned up.

It was Tye Carlson, the retired deputy governor of the South.

Twenty years ago, when he was the deputy governor, everyone in the South treated him like a king.

In his heyday, all the heads of the government departments in the South took orders from him, and even the underworld bosses looked up to him and curried favor with him. His superior, the governor, was merely a figurehead. Tye was the one with the actual power and influence, and he was given the nickname "King of the South."

However, justice caught up with him, and an investigation was commissioned to look into his shady dealings.

That resulted in him being forced into early retirement, rendering his glory days of being treated like royalty over.

During his years as the top man in the South, he had built good relationships with many influential businessmen, both legitimate and dubious ones.

When he was forced to retire, he made use of these connections to break into the commercial world and became a highly successful businessman in Yorksland.

His appearance at the Smith residence was unexpected and caught Sean and his family by surprise. They had no idea what made that top politician-turned-businessman pay them a visit.

When Tye was ruling over the South, Sean was one of those who badly wanted to curry favor and be associated with him. But unfortunately, Tye was surrounded by too many more influential people and would unlikely have taken note of small fry like Sean. Sean was still respectful and in awe of Tye, given his past status. As such, with his family in tow, he hurriedly went up to greet Tye. "What an honor! Welcome, Mr. Carlson! You should have told us you were coming, so we could do a proper welcome for you!" Although Tye was no longer in power, he was still full of self-importance. "Sean, I remember you came uninvited to one of my outdoor parties. As you were a nobody in the business circle in those days, my guards did not allow you into the party. Hahaha! You tried to sneak in through a small hole in the perimeter wall and got stuck in the hole. It was an entertaining sight for my guests! Do you remember that incident?" He had an arrogant smugness on his face and was out to embarrass Sean.

Sean was left red-faced by Tye's recollection of that embarrassing event. He hummed and hawed a bit before reluctantly answering, "That... indeed happened..."

Tye couldn't care less about leaving Sean awkward in front of his whole family. He even turned to his guests and added, "You cannot imagine how many foolish things this guy did back then in order to get a chance to meet me! Alas, the tide has changed, and now, it is my turn to ask to meet with him!"

Then he looked at Sean and teasingly asked, "Would you turn me away, like what I did to you before?"

"Of course not! You are most welcome, Mr. Carlson. Please take a seat inside!" Sean was quick to assure him.

Tye was satisfied with how humble Sean behaved. He used to be high and mighty and had no regard for people like Sean. The situation was no longer the same since Sean had become more accomplished than he. That made him feel inferior, and he badly needed to put Sean down in order to regain that sense of superiority. He wanted everyone to remember who he was and give him what he deemed was the respect he deserved.

After leading Tye and his followers to their seats, Sean personally poured a drink for Tye and smilingly asked, "What brought you here today, Mr. Carlson? Is there something we can do for you?"

Tye took a sip from the glass and his eyes lit up. "This is good wine!"

Of course, it is good wine! This is exclusive wine, specially gifted, to Nathan by the army! Sean was secretly pleased and proud.

Tye had tasted many high-end exclusive wines, but it was his first time sampling one from the military. It was potent but smooth and full-bodied.

His mood improved greatly after the drink, and he smilingly turned to Sean and said, "Indeed, I came for a reason. I need you to do me a favor." Everyone became curious about his purpose of visit, and Sean immediately replied, "Sure, Mr. Carlson. What can I do for you?"